So there we have it. If you didn't already feel like the 2012 Olympics was being run by people more concerned with their own interests than those of the public, the latest development must have driven the message home: bureaucrats, VIPs and politicians are to get their own road lanes to... Read more...
It was announced this afternoon that the people of Greater Manchester voted in force against the proposed congestion charge, with the 53.2% (1,030,000) turnout voting overwhelmingly against this additional road tax. No less than 79% of those who voted wanted to reject the charge, and no more than... Read more...
TPA activist Steve Atkinson has done some excellent work finding out where Cumbria County Council has taxpayers' money deposited in banks both foreign and domestic. Here's his Freedom of Information response from Cumbria County Council: "As at 17 November 2008, the County Council had the following monies deposited: Bank deposits £86,075,000Money... Read more...
Last Thursday, Stoke-on-Trent councillor and TPA supporter Gavin Webb made an interesting proposal to full council, yet the reaction of his fellow members will dismay those who’d assumed their elected representatives would be exploring all avenues with a view to eliminating the authority’s huge £12.1 million deficit Cllr Webb’s... Read more...
Average council spending on publicity rises to £971,985 Total Town Hall publicity bill £430 million The average local authority spent twice the amount on publicity than it did in 1996-97 In December 2007, the TaxPayers’ Alliance produced the first ever examination of the growth of town hall spending on publicity... Read more...
Ahead of the European Council meeting on 11th December, which will discuss EU energy policy, leading economist Ruth Lea warns in a new briefing paper for the TaxPayers' Alliance and Global Vision that the proposed EU Renewables Directive would drive up electricity costs, harm the economy and increase fuel poverty.... Read more...
TPA activist Bruce Lawson has written a superb letter to the Shropshire Star to follow up our Public Sector Rich List 2008. You can read it below. As always with our reports, its crucial our grassroots campaigners follow them up with short, sharp letters to the press to hammer home... Read more...
The Office for National Statistics has found that the number of pensioners in the UK now outnumbers those under the age of 16 for the first time. Ageing populations and a decreasing number of births across Europe isn’t a new trend, but this particular statistic raises very serious concerns in... Read more...
This week’s non-job comes from Hackney council: “Sport and Physical Activity Development Officer - Football £34,605 - £37,368 p.a. inc. The 2012 Olympics will be a landmark here in Hackney. We see them as an ideal opportunity to create a long-term legacy for all our residents, as... Read more...
First there was the shock of learning that local councils had placed – and then lost – millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money in Icelandic banks. Now we learn that Lancashire County Council, believe it or not, has been lending money to other councils. To be precise they lent Birmingham... Read more...
The real picture is even worse The Pre-Budget Statement showed us just how enormous Mr Brown's credit card bill now is. Yet we taxpayers are meant to believe that we shouldn't worry too much because the pain can be pushed off into the far distant yonder.Needless to say, that' wildly misleading, as we... Read more...
How much money is it acceptable to spend on advertising for an attraction that is shut? You may think that’s a stupid question, but the Express & Star newspaper reports today that £4,000 will be spent on double-sided signs intended to entice people into The Public gallery in West Bromwich.... Read more...
Jack Straw has announced that he has plans to "rebalance" the Human Rights Act (HRA). The problem is that this isn't a system that any British politician can balance, adjust or alter at all. The rights that the HRA enshrines can't be made contingent upon the responsibilities Straw wants... Read more...
It appears that our Action Day in Leek really made an impact! Not only have we signed up some new activists as a consequence, we’ve also won some support from contributors to the local paper, the Leek Post & Times. First the day was reported with a great photo... Read more...
On Saturday I was down in Bristol to launch the Bristol branch of the TaxPayers’ Alliance which, for the time being, will also cover the South West. They will be looking closely at waste, non-jobs and mismanagement at Bristol council. One of our recent non-jobs came from Bristol where the... Read more...
Below you can read Peter Webb's November campaign diary on behalf of the Surrey branch of the TPA: CAMPAIGN DIARY - November 2008 5th: Meeting by invitation with County LibDems Chris Slyfield and Hazel Watson (Group Leader). I introduced our beliefs and purpose and offered agenda for meeting... Read more...
Yesterday I went to the Manchester’s Trafford Centre on behalf of the TPA to support the Stop the Charge campaign and to encourage Christmas shoppers in Manchester to vote ‘No’ in the congestion charge referendum. Along with Peter Roberts, Chief Executive of the Drivers’ Alliance, we manned a prominent... Read more...
On Wednesday, I asked if police could raid an Opposition front bencher's office, what hope is there for the rest of us? Very little, it seems - as illustrated by this alarming statistic from Fraser Nelson's latest piece in the Spectator: ...partly thanks to MPs’ failure to check the... Read more...
The Centre for Social Cohesion have produced an interesting rebuttal to a controversial report about campus radicalism today. Dr June Edmunds, a Cambridge academic, has produced a report saying that the Government's view of Islamist extremism on University campuses is exagerrated. The only problem is, she based her conclusion on... Read more...
Greater Manchester is currently holding a referendum on the proposed congestion charge. The TaxPayers’ Alliance has been actively campaigning against the new charge for some time. Now, Stockport council (one of the councils in the Greater Manchester area) is running a campaign encouraging people to challenge the plan, arguing that... Read more...
We should all congratulate Ian Taylor in Kent on his opinion piece in this week’s Saturday Kentish Observer, which you can see below (click to enlarge). Ian’s strategy is a simple one – he keep writing. Taking our reports, which we send round in our bulletins, he makes... Read more...
This week’s non-job comes from Newham council in London: "Parliamentary and Public Affairs OfficerAvailable at Grade PO4, salary £35,841 - £38,463 With experience of delivering parliamentary and public affairs projects/programmes, you’ll be used to lobbying senior politicians and officers to effect change. Naturally, you’ll be adept at negotiating... Read more...
The Speaker's statement today about the raiding of Damian Green MP's office by police contained some truly shocking revelations. Uppermost is the fact that apparently the Met anti-terrorism officers involved did not even have a warrant to search the office, and that they failed to fulfil their legal obligation to... Read more...
...it would look pretty different to what we have heard today. There was a fascinating programme on the radio last night (listen again here) about the problem of there simply being too much legislation. It's certainly the case that the statute book, the list of criminal offences and the... Read more...